FROM CHALLENGE COMES CHANGE

March 8 has been a day marked to celebrate the achievements of women across the globe, and this year will be no exception. Reflecting on each year’s theme from the moment I became aware of the International Women’s Day (IWD), powerful statements are shared to empower and inspire women of all positions to rise, challenge the status quo and bring a seat to the table where there is none left. We have also seen men boldly supporting the equality agenda using different platforms to celebrate and promote women.

The theme for this year’s IWD’s campaign is #InspireInclusion with the narrative ‘Get Involved’. This for me is a call to action where people from across the globe collectively and with common understanding help create an inclusive world for women.

Even better and more powerful is when we as women inspire our individual selves by seeking and creating opportunities with our intelligence and relationships. This can be realized when we are all alert and responsible for our own thoughts and actions – all day, every day. We can all choose to passionately and uniquely seek to inspire others to value women’s inclusion in whatever capacity we find ourselves and celebrate achievements. From challenge comes change, so let’s all choose to challenge ourselves to inspire one another.

As I carefully observe the celebration period year on year, I find three (3) categories of people I would like to discuss.

1.?????? Achievers

Women in this category are high performers who are dedicated to their boldly called out visions, greatly inspired and devoted to their everyday struggle. They are of the belief that an equal distribution of power, influence and status means that those who have it, should support those that don’t.

These Go-getters go out of their way to share their experience with others and freely provide mentorship to younger women, inspiring and teaching them to value themselves and to grow their confidence and leadership skills.

They intentionally seek for and create opportunities for themselves and others and mindfully live each year’s theme every day. During each IWD celebration, you will hear of them making meaning out of the called-out theme and relating it to their professional and private lives. Such women are worth celebrating always as they continue to celebrate achievements of their fellow women and themselves.

Some of their characteristics are good listening skills, humility, dedication, confidence, courage, emotional intelligence, excellence, constantly evolving and pursuing happiness. Several of such women can be found in highly driven networks such as Executive Women’s Network (EWN) who’s vision is to Inspire, Empower and Support other women.

In the relentless pursuit of their goals, it is advised that they mindfully enjoy the present moment, connect with others who don’t share the same level of ambition, and take time to relax to avoid burnout

2.?????? Observers

These women watch things happen and events unfold with low or no participation in the activities taking place. They are usually very good commentators, process information carefully, story tellers. critics and can easily point out errors and gaps. They can join in the ongoing discussions but may not be mindful of relating it to their lives and making personal decisions.

When they decide to participate, they gladly enjoy the moment but not highly engaged in the ongoing activity and wait till the following year to be involved again.

They unknowingly take a passive stand in bringing into reality the learnings. They do not usually act due to the high level of their excitement, and this can lead to missed opportunities for growth, personal development or advancement. Observers are all around, spotted one lately?

They are most likely to also feel disconnected from others, particularly if they spend too much time observing rather than actively engaging in social interactions.

3.?????? Comfort Seekers

Often oblivious to their environment and the world at large, they require some promptings to the ongoing activity and lack understanding of the season. Absolutely no effort or room is made to seek knowledge or learning so the world keeps passing them by.

They are unaware of the amazing achievements of the trailblazers, thus nothing to inspire them to forge ahead.

They are very calm with what can be termed as normal or basic, yet share bitter experiences of neglect, inequality and bias. Idleness, excuses and complaints are their hallmark.

Comfort seekers most often have low ambition as they practically love everything comfort which money cannot buy. They are not mindful about self-development or advancement, and this leads to personal and professional stagnation.

They would rather stick to what is comfortable and familiar, than taking advantage on new experiences, perspectives, and relationships that could enrich their lives. This lifestyle makes it difficult for them to cope when faced with challenges or adversity. Typical of Comfort Seekers in an organization occupy same or similar positions and are well positioned for long service awards.

These three (3) categories of people can be found across genders and geographic locations. It therefore becomes necessary that both the Observers and Comfort seekers determinedly and consistently follow the path of the Achievers.

Sad to say, you will find many young women in the Observers and Comfort brackets who can be identified as future candidates for certain roles, yet when the opportunity arrives then ‘she is not ready yet’ label is pulled out. When you grow and shape yourself into a strong performer and leader, your value and potential will be recognized when the opportunity presents itself.

In as much as support is indeed required from others to forge a better world, we can create the empowerment and relevance we so desire and deserve if we rise to the challenge of getting involved and inspiring ourselves. The beauty through our strength will become the new force and pride.?

To do this, we must understand our personal biases, choose to challenge specific subjects in our lives that requires change. We must all take responsibility to dig into ourselves and challenge the biases we have inadvertently accepted. We must be the change we want to see if we want true growth and prosperity by nurturing environments and a culture that enables and empowers fellow women to rise and speak up, and by believing in our own capabilities rather than seeking for validation from others.

It is very powerful to lift others as we rise irrespective of our gender, so we must be intentional to call a female friend, a colleague, a partner to participate in an educative program that will empower and teach her to fish. In our place of influence where women are not present, we should be bold to ask why not and what can be done to include them. We as leaders must ensure that the facilities, we have, are feminine friendly to attract and enhance growth and comfort for the female workers also. We must encourage the personal development, tenacity, confidence and resilience of rising female leaders in preparation for top management roles.

Today, we find women in top leadership positions making bold decisions and impacting lives, some have also ventured into the traditionally male dominated careers e.g. Engineers, professional drivers and a typical one can be said of Lady Bird Logistics based in Takoradi, the Capital city of Western Region in Ghana whose truck drivers are solely ladies tankering fuel across the Western and Western North Regions of Ghana. Let us challenge the narrative about some male dominating careers through activities like Sports, Agriculture, Technology, Construction, STEM education and professions. Let us intentionally allocate percentages for certain placements at all levels.

It is not enough to just witness and make merry during such annual IWD celebrations, it requires our willingness to make bold personalized and powerful statements that can advance our careers and lives. Let us challenge ourselves and commit to working towards bringing change into reality every day. This we can only do for ourselves and by ourselves.

Make yourself relevant and your contribution will not be overlooked. The call to Action is NOW!!

From challenge comes change, so let's all?#InspireInclusion? ??

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Written by Anita Adjoa Boateng- (FCCA, MBA)- Finance Professional, Organizational leader working in a Multinational, and Member of Executive Women Network. Also has passion for people development and mentoring.